Kerry on Ukraine: Not 'Rocky IV'

Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that Russia should not see the situation in Ukraine as a Cold War conflict, saying it’s not a “Rocky” movie.

“We’re hoping that Russia will not see this as a sort of a continuation of the Cold War, we don’t see it that way,” Kerry said Wednesday on “Andrea Mitchell Reports” on MSNBC. “We do not believe this should be an East-West, Russia-United States — this is not ‘Rocky IV.’”

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In the live interview from the State Department, Kerry said given Russia’s opposition to U.S. military intervention in other countries, he would expect them to stay out Ukraine militarily.

“It would be very difficult for me to understand how Russia would reconcile its position on Libya, its position on Syria, its warnings against intervention in another country and then not respect the sovereignty of Ukraine and the will of the people there,” Kerry said.

The president of Ukraine recently fled the country after an agreement was reached between the government and protesters, and the country is pursuing an interim government. The post-Soviet nation was torn by violence and several deaths as protesters and officials clashed for days.

Rather than a struggle between super powers, Kerry said the administration sees the situation in Ukraine as an opportunity to work together for the people of the protest-ravaged nation.

“We see this as an opportunity for Russia, the United States and others to strengthen Ukraine, help them in this transition and there’s no reason they can’t look east and west and be involved as a vital cog in the economy of all of us going forward,” Kerry said.

Wednesday’s comments were not Kerry’s first time using the 1985 Sylvester Stallone film, in which Stallone’s “Rocky” character battles a Soviet boxer to avenge his friend’s death and represent the country, to refer to geopolitics. At the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Kerry used the line to ding Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, saying he “talks like he’s only seen Russia by watching ‘Rocky IV.’”